Bridgewater, NJ- The Somerset Patriots have announced that left-handed pitcher Brett Oberholtzer’s contract has been purchased by the Colorado Rockies. He is expected to report to Triple-A.

Oberholtzer was scheduled to be the team’s Opening Day starter in his first season with the Somerset Patriots. The 6’1” southpaw has four years of service in the Majors, including three with the Houston Astros (2013-15) and one split between the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2016). In his first season with the Astros, Oberholtzer posted four wins and a 2.76 ERA over 13 games (10 starts) with two complete games and one shutout. Additionally, he only walked 13 batters over 71.2 innings of work.

The Christiana, Delaware native took over as a full-time starting pitcher for the Astros the next season, striking out 94 batters against just 28 walks over 24 starts. He later made eight starts for Houston in 2015 before making 37 combined appearances (two starts) for the Phillies and Angels in 2016. He has won 14 games with a 4.36 ERA and 220 strikeouts over 324 innings pitched in his four seasons in the big leagues.

Oberholtzer made 24 starts for Triple-A Buffalo (Toronto Blue Jays) last year. He has pitched exclusively at either the Major League or Triple-A level in each of the past five seasons. The Seminole Community College alum is 55-53 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 708 strikeouts over nine seasons of minor league baseball.

Oberholtzer is the second Somerset Patriots player to have his contract purchased already this spring, joining right-handed pitcher Scott Copeland (New York Mets, Double-A).

The Somerset Patriots led the Atlantic League in attendance and made their 14th appearance in the playoffs last season. The Somerset Patriots will welcome their 7,000,000th fan in their 20th season at TD Bank Ballpark in 2018. Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 Season presented by Ford beginning at home on Friday, April 27th. For more information, please visit www.somersetpatriots.com.

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